First of all, let me tell you the background of how I came to read the novel in the first place. I must admit that I picked up this book while I wasn't looking for it.
Most of the times when I get a book, there is a normal route of someone recommending it or the book being of a genre or by an author that I generally prefer and thus I find them in bookstores or online etc. At least I have heard of the book previously. With Bunker 13 this was certainly not the case.
I picked it up from the desk of a colleague on one of those trips that I have to usually make to get "status updates". NO.. I'm not yet the Pointy Haired Boss, but still I gotta get those updates. Being a Technical Lead has it downside. ;-) On top of it, Suraj (my colleage who had ordered the book online and got it delivered the same day at office) had not yet read it. (Thanks Suraj for lending me the book even before you read it).
So there were absolutely no expectations from Bunker 13. Although I must admit, the title, the cover art, the reviews at the back and most importantly Aniruddha Bahal of Tehelka.com fame as the author did make a strong impression. In fact a title such as "Bunker 13" isn't one that I would normally pick up, but the author's background to be associated with an investigative website that gave India its first ever sting operation; clinched it for me. So suddenly I had this book without having ever heard of it earlier and having a deadline to read it in 3 days flat! Yes, Suraj did put such a condition but the third day was a Friday and yet I finished it on Friday night.
The first impression that you get of the novel is that you hit it running... it feels you are reading the middle of a book rather than the first stanza. Normally authors who tend to have a catchy first line, do clarify things a bit, when the reader has turned a few pages. But with Bunker 13 that never happens. You are thrown in the second person narrative about happenings that start off somewhere in the middle. It is like you start watching a movie after the first 10 minutes have passed. The story keeps unfolding at a breakneck pace and along with the second person narrative (which incidentally never breaks off, and needs some getting used to) it takes you by surprise that you reach almost the middle of the book in the first read. The story unfolds in real time but there are ample flashbacks which are again second person recollections by the central character Minty Mehta (MM for short) who is too dubious in his dealings to be dubbed a protagonist or antagonist in the normal sense of the words.
Writing an entire book in the second person has its disadvantages not to mention that it does tire out readers, but it still comes in handy when describing effects of hallucinogens during a sky-diving lesson by the elite group of Indian Army paratroopers. The author paints a vivid canvas littered with dodgy characters such as Captain Rodreguez who is a more demented version of MM himself. The portions of the story about the NDA at Khadakwasla in Pune seem to provide and explanation of the motives of MM in his undercover pursuit as a journalist for an Indian news magazine while trying to cozy up with the worst of the scumbags in the Indian army.
Demented - the word thrown around opulently in the reviews at the back cover - does stick out while you are reading about MM's numerous escapades. But to compare it to Catch 22 is a fallacy. It feels like there are too much usage of cuss words coming from an Indian author and not to mention the graphic depictions of MM's numerous encounters with the opposite sex. It does get a bit too much and no wonder that the author has the dubious distinction of being a winner of "Bad Sex in Fiction" Award given by Literary Review on his debut attempt in Bunker 13.
The portions of the book that deal with the Indian Army and the inner workings of the Indian press are refreshingly authentic and stand out. The triple agent act of MM also is passable until the author keeps going not knowing when to stop. I say, having anyone in his sane mind to high-jack a nuclear missile loaded train is a bit too much even in fiction. Even the ending seems a forced attempt to weave in Kargil war into the narrative and the suspense (which incidentally the plot never even attempts to hint about) when it unfolds is a bit of a let down. It seemed to me that a catchy name like "Bunker 13" was thought of for the novel, but the author realized after having written 99 percent of the material that there wasn't any justification for this title and then wove in a sub-plot in the wee end of the storyline.
Although its a good book about Army, espionage with plenty of RAW and ISI thrown in and even the magazine and newspaper business, the story is too otherworldly to be believable in the end. It can be said that the author kept on running and running and in a race with himself and even with no steam left tried to outdo his own imagination. Overall it's a fun ride while it lasts and like any other roller coaster it has its few moments which you would rather do without.
